Rural Health Summit 2018

March 8, 2018 · 12:00 PM – Mar 9, 2018 · 12:00 PM

The Rural Health Summit at the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute brings Arkansas health care workers of all kinds together to discuss the issues and challenges related to rural health care and to plan collaborative solutions.

At the first Summit, held in March of 2017, professionals representing major health institutions, places of higher learning, state organizations, municipalities, health clinics and beyond met to examine rural health care in Arkansas. Their goal was straightforward: ensure better health outcomes for rural Arkansans through coordinated collaboration.

After two days of facilitated discussion, the first Summit group created a list of more than 140 needs across six geographic regions. Not to focus only on challenges, however, they also created a working list of more than 120 resources that exist in the state. To compare the two and narrow the Summit group’s focus, they nominated a 12-member COMMITtee to carry forward their work.

Since that first meeting, the COMMITtee has selected Recruitment and Retention, Workforce and GME Development, and Community Health as their immediate focus areas. The COMMITtee members and their working groups have been making steady progress, diving deep into their respective focus areas and expanding the Summit reach to bring more stakeholders and collaborative partners to the table.

The second Rural Health Summit will be held this coming spring and will be a chance to review the COMMITtee’s progress so far, celebrate successes and meet with more of the state’s frontline health care workers to continue the Summit efforts in 2018. The second Summit will be a chance for new Summit members to weigh in on the direction of the efforts with new points of view, expertise and energy.